Church Women United is hosting a public program on Friday, April 10, in Columbus Hall at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Cherie Phillips of the Anderson County Office on Aging and Jo Bruce of the Family Resource Center will speak.
Fellowship with refreshments begins at 11:30 a.m., followed by a brief meeting and the program at noon.
The program makes up for the March meeting that was canceled due to winter weather. [Read more…]
Jo Bruce
Jo Bruce, director of the Family Resource Center at Oak Ridge Schools, will discuss “Breaking the Cycle of Violence†during a Monday morning forum in Oak Ridge.
The community forum starts at 11 a.m. Monday, October 6, in the fellowship Hall of Grace Covenant Church, Trinity Center, at 320 Robertsville Road. It’s presented by the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge.
Bruce has held the director’s position at the Resource Center since its inception, a press release said. The local center, housed in Willow Brook Elementary School, is one of the original family resource centers established by the state of Tennessee in the fall of 1993.
In a summary of her presentation, Bruce said she will discuss the services she provides to families and students of the Oak Ridge school system in an effort to build trust and resilience. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Board of Education asked for a smaller rollout of a technology initiative in budget talks that will resume Wednesday evening. (File photo)
The Oak Ridge school board devoted most of its Tuesday night meeting to reviewing the proposed budget for next year, but members haven’t voted on it yet. Instead, the board has asked school administrators to bring back a budget that has a smaller rollout of a technology initiative known as 1:1, and the discussions will resume Wednesday evening.
The board agreed that the 1:1 integration is necessary, but they had reservations about how exactly to roll out the electronic devices to students. Several board members said they support the addition of the new technology, but they are unable to completely stand behind the changes because of the costs.
Board members spent nearly two hours going through expenditures Tuesday and discussing the changes they thought were needed before they would feel comfortable sending the budget to the Oak Ridge City Council.
“It includes some things that I’m not sure I’m ready to support,†said board member Jenny Richter. She suggested implementing a rollout among a smaller number of students at first so that “we can learn from our own experience and meet the whole thing halfway.†She said she could support the budget with modifications to the technology initiative. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Board of Education and school administrators are pictured above during a meeting earlier this year. (File photo)
Note: This story was updated at 12:15 p.m.
Oak Ridge school officials made it clear last week that they’re not in favor of budget cuts, and at least a few suggested they might support a property tax rate increase to prevent reductions in staff and programs.
Earlier this month, the Oak Ridge Board of Education was presented three different budget options to start the annual fiscal discussions. One is known as the “Losing Students, Families, and Staff” budget; the second is known as the “Retaining Students, Families, and Staff” budget; and the third is known as “Attracting Students, Families, and Staff.”
The presentations outline a range of potential cuts including reducing nursing jobs and teaching positions; eliminating the Family Resource Center, elementary strings program, and preschool transportation; and increasing class sizes and stretching the student walk zone to one mile. They also include a range of potential benefits, including starting a digital technology initiative known as 1:1, hiring technology personnel, adding special education and custodial staff, and giving employees a 2 percent pay raise. [Read more…]
Pictured above from left to right are Robert Langford, Silas Reynolds, and
Brian Cox of ORNL Federal Credit Union’s Facilities Department, and Jason Long, Oak Ridge branch manager. (Submitted photo)
Each year, employees and members of ORNL Federal Credit Union support the Family Resource Center’s Angel Tree program as one way to give back to the Oak Ridge community, and 2013 was no exception, a press release said.
“Our involvement in the Angel Tree program is truly one of the highlights of each year for many of our employees,” said Jason Long, Oak Ridge branch manager. “This year, we committed to sponsoring 55 children, and we were fortunate to have gifts donated for each and every one.” [Read more…]
